The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-01-12


morning came. He had come back to
the town when he saw that the sick
cning tragedy on the hill was in
evitabe, and, climbing to his room
under the roof of Bowers Block,
paced to and fro for hours At
last he sat down between the dim
lamp and irikewarm stove with his
face in his hands and thought and
thought upon the myriad-colored prob
lem of existence. He could not lay
the colors straight, and at last the hues
all blent, and the problem seemed a
mighty, swiftly whirling wheel that
drew sparks out of the darkness by the
thousands and they streamed down
the blending spokcs and entered through
the vast and sunlike hub into what
seemed the sun itself; then he thought
the wheel was Time and the sparks
were lives, and he strained to see into
the region where they went until he
seemed to be going blind, and the great
wheel seemed receding and growing
less and less, and going farther and
HUI liC udi uhlil ~ uWlI-
died to single spark which seemed
to turn into the doomed book-keeper' s
voice. and wall to him family from
under the fatal oak: "Sco lvyl Snaer!
sce-lyyl-S-n-a-e-r" Far and far away
in the storm it seemed, and he was
striving vainly to 90 to it, when it
slowly changed and seemed the voice
OF Celeste singing silverly away up in
the sky. Then suddenly it seemed
summer time and he and Celeste were
hunting in the flowers and grass for
Maun's grave. But they could not
find it, and stood looking into each
others eyes with wondering gaze,
when Celeste said, slowly: at was
made here, but the grass has all grown
over it, and it must be as if it had never
been!' and he thought such look as
he had never seen there before, look
that was a kind of rosy light, come
into her face and shone into his and
filled him with so sweet feeling that
he awoke, and the gray dawn was filter
ing in through the frosty window and
the storm was pclting against it and
beating over and securing across the
tin roof of Bowers Block.
In g moment, when the truth and his
dreams were separated, the dark past
came back upon him, and he shivered
and got up and moved sorely about,
replacing his damp, torn clothing with
dry apparel. Then he bathed his face,
and putting on his overcoat started
out, but paused at the door and took
from his pocket the scrap of paper adj
dressed to Fowler which he found on
that awful trail, and which contained
Maun's confession of her love for John
Earring, and that through it she knew
OF her sin, and begged that she and
Fowler might never meet again. For
some time he stood still looking at the
heart breaking thing, and seeing all the
frightful detail. of the crime, rs he had
a hundred times, pass over it. .'She
didn't know! She didn't know!" he
whispered, and went shuddering back
TO the stove, and opening it put the
tell-tale paper into the smoldering fire,
and with it Maun's most saddening Sc
cret. Then he went down and got u
cup OF coffee at the hotel where he took
his meals, hearing every where q buzz
about the tragedy of the night, and
how the coroner had gone out to cut
the body down. But he said nothing;
to him the case was ended, and he
climbed the stairs to the office of Bow
er Il Woodmm and refreshing the
fires, for the old, slipshod janitor had
not yet appeared, he destroyed all the
notes he had made touching the trial
and set atonce to work upon some new
business. But, though turning his
mind strenuously from the torturing
field which he had just left, that cry:
"See Ivyl Snaer! see Ivyl Snaerr
kept ringing within him, immingled
somehow with Celeste's far-ofl, silvery
singing. He well-nigh believed it a
delusion; but he could not silence it,
and got up ere long and stood at
the window brooding over it. What
could the doomed man have meant by
calling after him? What had the
name to do with HIM? He repeated
1t over again and again, then he went
back carefully along the pathway of
his life trying to recall every name he
had ever heard. Suddenly he started
and walked about excitedly. He re-
membered having heard Joel Whitney
mention this curious name years before
in connection with the murder of his
father. All, was he stumbling upon
the secret of that long-forgotten mys-
tery9 The blood surged into his
temples, and he began hurriedly to
put on his overcoat. 1t was by no
means clear what he should do, but
something must be done about this!
AT the door he met Absalom Heater
That long striding. worthless person
came directly in, and, flirting the snow
from his dark beard, threw his mealy
miller's hat upon the table and sat
down.
That still devil knowed something
you ought TO know" he began, look
ing Il little consciously at John Earring,
who stood with his hand on the door
knob regarding him in steady silence,
land l wanted to make HIM splitter
out, but the boys couldn't wait; YOU
heard him calm to you 'spose?"
Yes"
well, had i'm by the throttle
tryin to hold it open long enough for
i'm to get rid of what was hurtin' i'm,
but they pulled the hemp on i'm in
spite OF me. Think lie knowed some
thin you ought to know. That Evil
Snare that he was yellin' about was the
chap that got your pap's farm: struck
me he knowed how he got it!''
"Did you know Ivyl Snaere"
Il was a youngster then, but l re-
member i'm.
Did you ever see Fowler before?n
Sometimes thought had; couldn't
place 'in.'